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The parking brake is a manually operated braking system that prevents the vehicle from rolling when stopped.
It is activated by a hand brake or in this case, a foot brake actuator that leads down to a cable:
The cable goes underneath the vehicle, where its split to the two rear wheels:
The rear drums house the parking brake mechanism:
Inside are the shoes, the adjuster and spring, and the actuator lever at the bottom which attaches to the cable. When the cable is pulled on, the actuator lever expands causing the shoes to expand outward against the drum.
These are what the shoes look like when removed. Rusty...
This is the ratcheting mechanism inside the foot brake:
